Video Upload Options

Ontological is derived from ontos, the greek word being. The name is intended to convey the intent of the argument to prove God's existence by virtue of his existence being necessary. It was first proposed by the medieval philosopher Anselm of Canterbury in his Proslogion, and important variations have been developed by philosophers such as René Descartes, Gottfried Leibniz, Norman Malcolm, Charles Hartshorne, and Alvin Plantinga. A modal logic version of the argument was devised by mathematician Kurt Gödel. The ontological argument has been controversial in philosophy and many philosophers have famously criticized or opposed it, including Anselm's contemporary Gaunilo of Marmoutiers, as well as David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Gottlob Frege. Some of these opponents have preferred to rely on cosmological arguments for the existence of God instead. It continues to garner discus ion to the present.